Look at the intensity of the crowd! Must have been a good game.
Lots of shaking up in the DI Spring College Ranking, and it’s only round two!
BYU is still number one after two shutout road wins in the Pacific Desert: 62-0 vs. CSU Northridge and 49-0 vs. UC Santa Barbara. Alisa Baker, who played fullback then inside center, led all point-scorers with 24 on two tries and seven conversions, while flanker Sasha Llan, wing Emma Bennion and center Rachel Strasdas scored three tries apiece. Emily Briggs (2), Christina Miller, Hannah Beagley, Tayzlie Tripple, Erika Magaoay, Salome Finau and Marion Morrow also dotted down.
Also in the Pacific Desert, Grand Canyon was idle and remains at No. 8 and Arizona joined the lineup after serving UC San Diego its first loss of the season, 31-21. There were four lead changes in this tight match, but second-half tries from Amaya Singleton and Niki Abaglo gave the Wildcats the cushion – and bonus point – needed for the victory. The Tucson team also beat UCLA (2-1) in California to start the season.
Double-header weekends are common on the western seaboard, due to the geographic spread of conferences and/or the number of games during the season. In the Pacific Mountain North, the University of Oregon opened with a 12-7 win against the previously undefeated Western Washington. Talulah Beisel and Chelsey Lindsey scored in the first half, and Annissa Guerrero’s conversion afforded the 12 points. Late in the game, the Vikings put Nina Scruton away for a try, which Trinity Wilson converted, but the Ducks held on. Oregon then turned around the next day for a 57-24 victory against the University of Washington.
“It was overall a great doubleheader weekend against two physical teams,” Oregon head coach Greg Farrell noted. “The score [against Washington] was 57-7 with 15 minutes left in the game when I subbed in our six remaining reserves, and then we gave up three tries in a seven-minute span. We can’t have that kind of let-down on offense and defense when sending in fresh legs. Need to keep them mentally focused for the full 80+ minutes.”
Oregon State also went 2-0, although its first match against Washington State was a forfeit win. The Beavers built a 31-0 lead against Western Washington, as Julia Bonder, Jordan Eaton, Sophia Betts, Constance Parker and Meghan Tualamalii all scored, and Tara Stanton added the extras. Both sides started working the bench, and the Vikings won the second half, as Mia Wagoner and Natayah Bauer scored and Amanda Kelley added a penalty, but Oregon State put one more Parker try and Stanton conversion in the books for the 38-13 win. Both Oregon and Oregon State are on the rankings, and although the latter beat Western Washington by a larger margin, the rankings consider the impact of the Vikings’ Saturday slugfest on its Sunday fixture against a fresh squad.
And what to do about the Pacific Mountain West. The league continues to live up to its competitive reputation, as predictions on upcoming outcomes are rendered useless. It makes for a very entertaining spring. Historical rivals Cal and Stanford met at the beautiful Witter Rugby Field for the Bears’ homecoming weekend. A wonderful game ensued – read more – and on the last play of the game, Cal scrumhalf Izzy Roberson peeled off the weak side of a five-meter attacking scrum, held the defense, and then sent the finishing pass to Denecia Fernandes. The wing beat her opposite for dive-over, winning try on the final play of the game: 19-17 to Cal.
Meanwhile, Fresno State hosted a double-header and started against UC Davis. After trailing 7-22 at the half, the Bulldogs rallied for a 28-27 lead with nine minutes remaining. The Aggies then surged for two tries to overturn the lead and win 41-28. It was a competitive loss for the DI newcomer, which banked a ton of confidence for its Sunday match against Chico State. An offensive explosion followed, as Fresno State downed the Wildcats 60-20. Point-scorers on the weekend included Chetna Kumar (4T), Meaghan Gallagher (3T), Laura Ellison-Seeger (2T), Danyelle DeLeon (2T), Ishmerai Seve (T), Averi Peterson (T), Vanessa Maravilla (T) and Regan Garner (9C).
The rankings moved Cal to No. 5, one spot ahead of Stanford, for their near-equal game, and UC Davis is right behind at No. 6. The Aggies defeated Cal 12-10 in the Bears’ season opener, while Stanford beat UC Davis 20-0 in their season opener. That’s why we’re keeping them all tight with the expectation that every week is ripe for another reshuffle. Chico State is the case in point. The Wildcats beat Davis by one score two weekends ago, but the 40-point loss to Fresno State cannot go unnoticed. As for Fresno, it’s No. 14 on the watch list, as we wait to see if some momentum builds out of its first DI win and whether a better performance against Stanford occurs this weekend.
On the opposite side of the country, Virginia Tech remained idle in the Blue Ridge conference and will kick off spring matrix season this weekend against Clemson. The Hokies and Virginia Women’s Rugby (UVA) are in different pools this year, so they won’t face each other until the post-season. UVA meanwhile worked its bench against a rebuilding University of North Carolina and won 120-0. The outing took a lot out of the Tar Heels, which will be forfeiting its upcoming match against NC State this Friday.
“They were a pleasure to play! Very sporting, never got down on themselves,” UVA head coach Nancy Kechner praised UNC’s efforts. “We spent last season trying to get the players into the right positions. I think we’ve got it down now.”
Finally, No. 3 UCF traveled to Tampa for a 78-5 win against South Florida. The Orlando-based program is fielding two teams this year but its DII match against Florida International was cancelled. Both teams are bulking up their spring matrix calendars with friendlies and tournaments like New Orleans’ Mardi Gras and Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day.
